Marines, Air Force Place $1.4 Billion V-22 Order

Bell-Boeing’s Joint Project Office has obtained a $1.4-billion contract extension to supply 17 MV-22 tiltrotors to the U.S. Marine Corps and four CV-22s to the U.S. Air Force. The agreement is an expansion of an existing V-22 Lot 17 contract. The deal also provides funding to purchase components related to the manufacture of 19 Lot 18 MV-22s and three CV-22s in fiscal year 2014. Around 40 percent of the work is scheduled to take place at locations in Texas (Fort Worth, Amarillo and Dallas), while 19 percent will occur in Ridley Park, Pa. and the rest at dozens of sites around the United States. Completion is targeted for September 2016.

Bell-Boeing has also received a separate $33.6-million contract involving engineering and technical support for the V-22’s flight control system. The agreement covers avionics software, flight test planning, upgraded flight controls and integration testing. Bell-Boeing will conduct most of the work in Philadelphia (around 90 percent), with the remainder in Fort Worth. Estimated completion is scheduled for December 2013. Related:Airframe News